The structure and operation of wireless communication systems are generally known. Examples of such wireless communication systems include cellular systems and wireless local area networks, among others. In a cellular system, a regulatory body typically licenses a frequency spectrum for a corresponding geographic area (service area) that is used by a licensed system operator to provide wireless service within the service area. A plurality of base stations may be distributed across the service area. Each base station services wireless communications within a respective cell. Each cell may be further subdivided into a plurality of sectors.
Location based services for mobile stations are expected to play an important role in future applications of wireless systems. A wide variety of technologies for locating mobile stations have been developed. Many of these have been targeted towards the Federal Communication Commission's (“FCC”) requirement to determine the location of emergency 9-1-1 callers with a high degree of accuracy. The Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act (“the 911 Act”) was enacted to improve public safety by encouraging and facilitating the prompt deployment of a nationwide, seamless communications structure for emergency services. The 911 Act directs the FCC to make “911” the universal emergency number for all telephone services. Emergency (911) calls from landlines provide the emergency dispatchers with the telephone number and the address of the caller thereby assisting emergency personnel in locating the emergency. As mobile stations became more widely used, an increasing number of emergency (911) calls are being made from mobile stations without a fixed address. Emergency call centers have recognized that relying upon the caller to describe their location caused a delay in service. Many mobile emergency (911) callers were unable to accurately describe their location, resulting in a further delay and, often times, a tragic outcome.
In 1996, the FCC issued a report and order requiring all wireless carriers and mobile phone manufacturers to provide the capability for automatically identifying to emergency dispatchers the location from which a wireless call was made. Implementation was divided into two phases. Phase I required wireless service providers and mobile phone manufacturers to report the telephone number of the mobile phone making the call as well as the base station controlling the mobile station which provided a general area from which the call was made. This information can be obtained from the network elements. Phase II of the FCC's Enhanced 911 (“E-911”) mandate stated that by Oct. 1, 2002, wireless service providers must be able to pinpoint, by latitude and longitude, the location of a subscriber who calls emergency (911) from a mobile station. Wireless service providers were given the option of providing a network-based solution or a handset based solution. Wireless service providers who select a network-based solution are required to locate a mobile phone within 1000 meters 67% of the time.
Typical mobile station location technologies may be classified into external methods or network based methods. One example of an external method is the Global Positioning System (“GPS”). Network based methods may be further categorized depending on whether it is the network or the mobile station that performs necessary signal measurements. These signal measurements may involve the reception time of signals communicated between a base station (“BS”) and a mobile station (“MS”), the angle of arriving signals or round trip delay measurements of signals communicated between a serving BS and an MS, or combinations thereof.
For example, most location methods require specific hardware in the MS and/or in the network. Traditional networks include Mobile Station Controllers (“MSC”), Base Station Controllers (“BSC”) and Base Transceiver Station (“BTS”) systems that jointly operate to communicate with mobile stations over a wireless communication link. Examples of common networks include GSM networks, North American Time Division Multiple Access (“TDMA”) networks and Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) networks. Extensive infrastructures (e.g., ANSI-41 or MAP-based networks) exist in the cellular wireless networks for tracking mobility, distributing subscriber profiles, and authenticating physical devices. In wireless mobile networks providing a facility to determine a mobile station's geographic position, a network component commonly referred to as a Mobile Location Center (“MLC”) performs the location calculation. Furthermore, in some networks, Location Measurement Units (“LMU”) may be generally required for some methods to obtain knowledge about the relative time differences for sending signals to different mobile stations.
To establish a wireless communication link in traditional wireless networks, an MSC communicates with a BSC to prompt the BTS (collectively, “BS”) to generate paging signals to a specified MS within a defined service area typically known as a cell or sector. The MS, upon receiving the page request, responds to indicate that it is present and available to accept an incoming call. Thereafter, the BS, upon receiving a page response from the MS, communicates with the MSC to advise it of the same. The call is then routed through the BS to the MS as the call setup is completed and the communication link is created.
One well-known method for locating a MS is triangulation. Signal power level or signal timing measurements between the MS and three or more base stations are used to triangulate. The signal power level or signal timing measurements are used to estimate the distance between each base station and the MS. The distances are plotted to determine a point of intersection. The point of intersection is the approximate transmitter location. For calculations using only signal power measurements, this method works only when the signal strength is relatively strong and not greatly affected by radio frequency (RF) fading, such as multipath interference common in urban environments. RF fading occurs when radiated signals encounter various obstacles that reflect and diffract the signal causing the received signal power level at the base station and mobile terminal to vary up to 30 dB. The requirement for a minimum of three base stations and the effect of RF fading limits the usefulness of triangulation.
Location techniques relying on measurements of timing differences, such as time difference of arrival (“TDOA”) or enhanced observed time difference (“E-OTD”), require signal timing measurements between the MS and three or more separate base stations. If the network's base stations are not time synchronized then extra equipment is required at each base station to measure the timing difference between base stations in the network. If the standard wireless network is not capable of collecting signal timing measurements between three or more base stations and the mobile terminal, modification of the standard base station and optionally the handset are required. The modification of base stations and optionally handsets implies significant additional cost to wireless network operators.
The development of the Global Positioning System (“GPS”) by the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) provides a means to fix a position using a system of orbiting satellites with orbital planes that guarantee that at least four satellites are visible at all times. This system provides location accuracy to within one meter for military systems possessing a Selective Availability (“SA”) algorithm to filter out the intentional noise added to the signal. GPS systems without SA are limited to an accuracy of approximately 100 meters. Widespread use of the GPS and the decision to discontinue the LORAN-C navigation system convinced the DoD to drop SA thereby allowing commercial GPS receivers to dramatically increase accuracy. The FCC recognized that GPS receivers could be incorporated into mobile phones when it made minor adjustments to the Phase II schedule. Using GPS to report location, however, requires the mobile user to upgrade existing hardware or to purchase new hardware.
There is a need in the art for a method and apparatus to calculate a mobile station's location that avoids the limitations of the prior art such as the requirement for three or more separate base stations and one that does not require a mobile station or network hardware change to satisfy Phase I requirements while limiting the impact to the users and to the network operators. It is thus of interest to investigate what may be done with a minimum of network impact and expense.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and system for maximizing the number of measurements that can be used for mobile location in a wireless network overlay location system. In view of the shortcomings of the prior art identified above, it is of great interest to identify other measurements that could be made to augment other location-related measurements and increase location yield and accuracy. Therefore, an embodiment of the present subject matter provides a novel method and system to derive a range estimate by exploiting a measured downlink timing of a serving cell site and combining this with a measured uplink time of arrival.
Another embodiment of the present subject matter provides a method for determining an approximate range from an LMU to a mobile device. The method comprises receiving at the LMU an uplink signal from the mobile device, determining an uplink frame marker from the uplink signal, and receiving at the LMU a downlink signal from a base station serving the mobile device. The method further comprises determining a downlink slot marker from the downlink signal, determining a round trip propagation delay based on the uplink frame marker and the downlink slot marker, and determining an approximate range from the LMU to the mobile device as a function of the round trip propagation delay.
In a further embodiment of the present subject matter, a communications network is provided for determining an approximate range to a mobile device. The network may comprise an LMU for receiving an uplink signal from a mobile device, circuitry for determining an uplink frame marker from the uplink signal, and a base station serving the mobile device for transmitting a downlink signal to the LMU. The network may further comprise circuitry for determining a downlink slot marker from the downlink signal, circuitry for determining a round trip propagation delay based on the uplink frame marker and the downlink slot marker, and circuitry for determining an approximate range from the LMU to the mobile device as a function of the round trip propagation delay.
These embodiments and many other objects and advantages thereof will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the embodiments.